Latest Commercial Campaign Aims to Correct Payday Loan Misconceptions
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
As Advance America faces a lawsuit and growing criticism, it has responding by coming out with a new ad campaign for its products.
The nation's largest provider of payday advance services has developed five television commercials; each profiles a real person engaged in their occupation - a paramedic, a gym teacher, a waitress, a bus driver and a shoe salesman - and each serves an important role in our society.
The spots address the occasional financial challenges faced by hardworking Americans and pledges support from Advance America, ending with the tagline, "Because you advance America."
"There is a tremendous misunderstanding about the individuals who use [payday cash loans]," said Trudy Boyles, chief marketing officer for the Spartanburg, S.C., company. "The majority are hard-working Americans with middle-class incomes, and almost half of them own their own homes. We want to correct any misperceptions about our customers, thank them for what they do to make our cities and towns run, and let them know we're here for them when they need us."
The campaign was developed by Greenville, S.C., ad agency Erwin-Penland, part of The Interpublic Group's Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos.
Backyard Productions' Chace Strickland, whose award-winning work includes commercials for Wachovia, Chevy, Campbell Soup and Michelob, directed the spots.
"The [faxless payday loan] industry is one of the most misunderstood industries in our nation, and the advertising has a lot to do with it," said Erwin-Penland Executive Creative Director Andy Mendelsohn.
"The misperception is that [quick cash advance] lenders are out to take advantage of people, when in fact they provide a valuable service for millions of Americans who may not have the financial alternatives some of us enjoy. We developed this campaign to speak for them as much as to them, to defend their right to use payday loans responsibly so they can go on with their lives."
Commercials will air in television markets across the country through November 30. The campaign will also include radio and direct mail in select markets.
